Alan November explains how he would use the first five days of school to lay the groundwork for a year of learning that goes far beyond the test. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more!

Consultant Gravity Goldberg says teachers can be co-explorers, not just tour guides, and create opportunities for students to find their own way. Sample unit!

Susan Grigsby @sksgrigsby's insight:

I love Gravity Goldberg's analogy of teaching to that of a tour guide or co-explorer. (I love her name, too, but that's another story!). She very clearly outlines the requirements and the consequences of being a tour guide teacher and how that is sometimes what is needed. Then she goes on to talk about what it's like to be a co-explorer with our students along with the requirements and consequences of that plan of action. I see librarians straddling both roles. We want our students to really know the "lay of the land" but then we want them to be independent selectors of their reading materials. Sometimes we need to be the guide and sometimes we need to sit back and let them explore. How do we help our classroom colleagues do the same?

When I served as president of our Virginia school librarians’ association, the theme for my presidential year was “Advocacy Begins with You!” However, as I have reflected over the past decade or so, I’ve revised that slightly to emphasize that... Read More ›

Susan Grigsby @sksgrigsby's insight:

Take a look at this timely article by AASL president Audrey Church! The lucky school librarians going to GLMA Summer Institute will get to hear this powerful call for advocacy in person as Audrey will be providing the opening keynote. Enjoy!

If you ignore everything else, go to this site to fill your tool box with a plethora of OER covering everyting from Audiobooks/eBooks to General Reference resources - with a whole lot of good stuff in between. I believe that librarians need to set themselves up as the curators of digital resources in their schools. We have the training to evaluate these things for accuracy, currency, authority, and relevance to our school's curriculum. Better yet, team up with the subject area chairs at your school and do a collaborative team approach to curating OER for your students. It's a win-win, IMHO.

The post 4 Phases Of Inquiry-Based Learning: A Guide For Teachers appeared first on TeachThought PD.

Susan Grigsby @sksgrigsby's insight:

I love the simple, yet informative, graphic that opens this article for teachers about the 4 phases of Inquiry-Based Learning. We talk a lot about inquiry and how important it is to engage students through questioning but how much attention is given to the teaching professional to make sure s/he knows how to implement a quality program? This is a wonderful article to share with teachers and it's great for librarians, too. Think about how we use these 4 phases every time a patron comes in looking for a book suggestion. You interact to get a feel for who they are, you get clarification about what they're looking for, you engage in the "reference interview" to narrow down your suggestions, and then you provide a list of suggestions or "design" the reading experience. We've been modeling this for years! Enjoy!

Why is it important to evaluate and corroborate sources of information? These are not new questions, as a study of historical newspapers will confirm. Sometimes reports reflect an editorial bias, and sometimes they simply reflect what the reporter knows at the time, with updates being added as new information from more sources surfaces.

Susan Grigsby @sksgrigsby's insight:

This article is short and sweet but will go a long way towards helping you explain the concept of information literacy to teachers who may not be on board. I love how the author talks about the way even historical understandings can change based on new information, new insights, and new cultural norms being developed. Worth a read!

The second article in a series devoted to grounding PBL in the standards.

Susan Grigsby @sksgrigsby's insight:

I love how Michael Gorman breaks down PBL and provides 10 steps to ensure it is being done in a student-centered manner. This is a nice template for librarians in their collaborative planning work. Enjoy!

Rather than share an article written by someone else, I have the distinct pleasure of sharing one written by ME! I wrote this piece in response to an article in THE Journal that I read in which an administrator lamented the fact that there was no one in his system to help them make the digital shift. As more and more school systems begin the process of curating digital resources - through publishers or OER - the school librarian is a valuable resource that can help not only make good curriculum/instructional decisions but financially sound ones as well. If your administrator doesn't know about this special skill you bring to the table, show him/her this article. Enjoy!

... The post It’s Past Time For Education 3.0 appeared first on TeachThought.

Susan Grigsby @sksgrigsby's insight:

You know what caught my eye right away? That this artical was originally published in March 2013 - yep, almost 4 years ago and yet aren't we still struggling to get a handle on Education 2.0? Don't we all have teachers who are still treading very lightly into educational technology? Don't we still have parents (and students, I might add) who still believe we are their parenting relief for the day? Now we're talking about personalizing the learning! Libraries and librarians have a real opportunity here. We can not only help teachers get to a higher state of proficiency with transformative uses of technology but we can also model the teacher-as-learner while supporting the creation of knowledge (not just its consumption). This is well worth your time to read and to figure out how you can be the beacon of hope and agents of change in YOUR school!

In an era of national attention to what's real and what isn't, we asked educators to share their strategies for helping students sort out fact from fiction.

Susan Grigsby @sksgrigsby's insight:

Another great story from NPR on how educators are tackling the fake news issue. My only gripe: use the word educators instead of teachers so that readers aren't confused about who is doing this work! In spite of that, there are some wonderful examples here of how to build a collaborative or solo lesson on evaluation of resources which is such an important skill in today's world. Enjoy!

It is important not to fall into a "best-practices" trap, but sharing what works in each classroom is a means to help each other. Each teacher can modify the practices to meet their needs and those of each student they teach.

Sadly, my little corner of the webiverse is not on the list (haha!) but what IS on the list is great stuff! From pedagogy to edtech to classroom management, everyone will find something useful from this list that will improve teaching practice - even those of us in school libraries! So much of what constitutes quality work in the classroom translated to our world quite nicely - bookmark your favorites!

Think of your curriculum as a story. Assignments and activities are elements in the narrative, and your students are the protagonists.

Susan Grigsby @sksgrigsby's insight:

This is an excellent article that may help you think differently about how you design your library program. And if curriculum is the story, aren't we the perfect people to use that framework for designing it? Read on and then comment on how this changes your thinking!

The brain's active processing capacity is finite, so unless knowledge is encoded in long-term memory, having to search for it actually crowds out other forms of cognition. Knowing things helps you think and read successfully.

Susan Grigsby @sksgrigsby's insight:

This is a powerful article from Educational Leadership that provides research to back up the fact that prior knowledge is a key component to reading instruction. We tend to think that knowing something is less important nowadays because we can simply Google the answer. Not so, according to author Doug Lemov. This is my take-away: "The brain's active processing capacity is finite, so unless knowledge is encoded in long-term memory, having to search for it actually crowds out other forms of cognition. Knowing things helps you think and read successfully."

This has implications for libraries and how we support reading instruction. To me, it also solidifies the practice of allowing students to check out books that interest them as they emerge as readers and not pigeon-hole them into Lexile ranges. Those little nuggets of information could be just that piece of prior knowledge needed to "think and read successfully" in the future. Enjoy!

The outgoing president of the American Association of School Librarians discusses standout moments from her time in office and what may lie ahead for AASL members.

Susan Grigsby @sksgrigsby's insight:

Georgia librarians were treated to a visit by Audrey during our annual conference, Summer Institute. She was delightful - giving us inside info about AASL (and inspiring some attendees to join!) and hosting a session on advocacy that our participants found very informative and practical. I hope that her visit to Georgia was a fitting send off for a wonderful AASL President!

What Kind Of World Are We Preparing Students For? The Future Isn't Digital & Technology Is Just A Tool

Susan Grigsby @sksgrigsby's insight:

In my humble opinion, this is a must-read for librarians, instructional technology teachers, and anyone else heavily invested in edtech. This is my take-away from this article: "Students need to be prepared for the real word–the one that they live in each day and will build lives and careers in. The digital world has become a part of the real world, but has not replaced it. The future isn’t digital, it’s real and tangible and all around us, and digital technology is only a part of that whole. Students need to be prepared to make good choices and have built the skills that they need to succeed outside of computer-generated content."

In this multi-part series, we are profiling the best of the best education blogs, in alphabetical order.

Susan Grigsby @sksgrigsby's insight:

I didn't happen upon this one until D-E but you can bet I'll be following the link to all of the articles in this series! If you want to be on top of your game by reading current thoughts and trends, this is a post you'll want to read and share. The list is extensive and you'll find something for yourself and something for your subject and grade-level teachers, too. While it doesn't specifically target libraries it DOES target fantastic educational blogs and if you want to be the learning hub in your school it is well worth your time to know what's going on in all subjects & grades.

Whether guiding research or introducing new tech, today’s librarian gives Gen Z the skills they need to move from ‘getting it right now’ to ‘getting it right.’

Susan Grigsby @sksgrigsby's insight:

I love the byline that says "today's librarian gives Gen Z the skills they need to move from 'getting it right now' to 'getting it right.'" I couldn't have said it better myself. We have always been the champions of accurate, relevant, current, and valid resources and, in today's world, that cause is more important than it's ever been. The next time someone asks why we need libraries in the age of Google, I'm going to quote some of the statements in this article! Enjoy.

Twenty percent time from Google. Or a genius hour. Or passion projects. Or compassion based engineering. I’ve written about these before. First, I’ll define the terminology. Second, I’ll give you an example from my classroom happening right now. Finally, I’ll take you through nine of the components that help teachers have a successful 20% time […]

Susan Grigsby @sksgrigsby's insight:

Georgia's own Cool Cat Teacher, Vicki Davis, has written a winner here! From explaining the terms "20% time," "genius hour," "passion projects" and more to giving concrete examples of putting those practices into place in her classroom. This article will help you support teachers in your building who may be interested in the this idea as well as get YOU up to speed with how you can support them with your library program. This one is well worth sharing with your school community!

As a high school journalism teacher, I have started my classes off for years with various digital 'get-to-know-you' activities — everything from having students

Susan Grigsby @sksgrigsby's insight:

Looking for an interesting way to bring a conversation about digital literacy/citizenship to the table? This is a great idea implemented by a high school journalism teacher but could easily be adapted for a collaborative lesson in other grades (and in the media center). Bringing in digital storytelling, technology (iMovie), and the kind of critical thinking necessary for good writing makes this one a winner!

This article contains 7 tips to help you plan and execute an effective makerspace in your library. The suggestions are great but my favorite is: visit other makerspaces. They're all different and the key is to find the model that works best for you (or whoever is managing it) and the community for which it serves. Remember! It doesn't have to be robotics and 3D printers - successful makerspaces can be altering discarded books or origami or knitting or... well, making something!

Libraries should be places of safety and security where our students and patrons feel free to independently search for that which interests them. In the wake of growing reports of open hostilities towards our friends and neighbors it is more important than ever that we provide a warm, welcoming space in our libraries. It is also important to take care of ourselves and resist the urge toward pessimism. This article from ALA gives us 10 things we can do to continue our work in a way that is culturally responsive and kind.

I taught with several librarians who were terrific. We have spent too much time trying to eliminate librarians and libraries in schools, rather than redefining their roles. That is a lack of vision and leadership. One administrator thought that putting books in buckets was a library. I told her that part of the library was the human relationships that emerged due to librarians.

Project Based Learning is seen by many as an effective contemporary student-centered pedagogy that sustains inquiry, promotes student choice and provides a vehicle fo

Susan Grigsby @sksgrigsby's insight:

Based on a Buck Institute for Education report titled "Gold Standard PBL" this article gives educators a fantastic guideline for quality PBL. From The Driving Question to The End Product, the author gives us not only written explanation but videos of students explaining the concept. This is well worth sharing with your teachers AFTER you have watched it and have a clear picture of how you can use these strategies with your library program - and, btw, it fits quite nicely, indeed!

Free resource of educational web tools, 21st century skills, tips and tutorials on how teachers and students integrate technology into education

Susan Grigsby @sksgrigsby's insight:

Looking for new ways to create some quick formative assessments to evaluate the effectiveness of your lesson or program? Here's a great list with brief explanations of each one. Share with your teachers!

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